Posts tagged ‘Comfort Food’
He~Man Potatoes
Yes, I love potatoes and try them in all kinds of ways. I tried this recipe just because I loved the original name which was Masculine Potatoes 
I changed the name and I still don’t know what makes them masculine or he~man, maybe the bacon and horseradish but I still think it’s cute.
Mr. Meat Eater hates bacon in recipes so I had to leave it out. To compensate, I used a bit more horseradish. The hardest thing about making these potatoes, is boiling and mashing the potatoes. They are perfect for steak or roasts.
He~Man Potatoes
6-10 red potatoes
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream (I used light)
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup bacon bits
1 tsp horseradish
dash each of salt and pepper, use more if you like
1 tsp chopped fresh parsley
Boil potatoes until tender. Mash with skins left on and leave chunky, not smooth.
Stir in milk, sour cream, and butter. Add bacon bits, horseradish and salt and pepper.
Place in servings dish and sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley.
Makes 6-8 servings.
Adapted from Favorite Recipes of the Shenandoah First Responders Family and Friends
Happy Cooking!
Creamy Tomato Pesto Soup
This soup is just divine! I made it for lunch over the weekend and I thought Mr. Meat Eater was going to lick the pan when it was all gone. Tomato is my go-to soup when I am craving soup and this recipe just kicks it up a notch.
It is super easy to make. If you don’t have a stick blender, you can just eat it as is and it will be just as delicious. I used San Marzano canned tomatoes because I like the way they taste the best but if you can’t find them, any crushed tomatoes will be just as good.
Creamy Tomato Pesto Soup
2 tbsps olive oil
1/2 cup diced onions
2 tbsps minced garlic
1 (28 oz) can whole peeled crushed tomatoes
1 pint heavy cream
6 tbsps basil pesto
3 tbsps grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Heat the olive oil in a soup pot. Over medium heat, add the onions and garlic and saute until translucent.
Add the tomatoes with their juice. Add the cream slowly while stirring, then add the pesto and cheese. Turn heat down to low and simmer for 20 minutes.
Using a stick blender, blend until smooth. If no stick blender is available, serve as is.
Serve with crackers or garlic bread if desired.
Makes 4 servings.
Adapted from Paws-itively Good Chow
Happy Cooking!
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Squares
This is another yummy recipe from Gooseberry Patch’s new cookbook! If you would like a chance to win a copy of this cookbook, please go to THIS POST and post in the comment section and let me know what your favorite thing to eat for breakfast is. I get hungry every time I read through the comments!
I have been making these bars for a long time ~ 20 years at least. They are one of our favorites ~ especially my son. Since he moved away, I don’t make them much anymore so it was nice to see this recipe in the cookbook.
They are easy to make and I make mine just a touch different but these are very, very good.
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Squares
Submitted by Jody Geary from Rockland, MA
2 (8 oz) tubes crescent rolls
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened ~ I use less fat
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
cinnamon and sugar mixed
Unroll one tube of crescent rolls in a 13×9 pan and stretch to fit if needed and pinch the seams together.
In a bowl, beat the cream cheese, vanilla, and sugar; spread over the rolls in the pan.
Top with the other tube of crescent rolls, carefully stretching and pinching the seams together as best you can.
Drizzle the melted butter over the top and sprinkle with the cinnamon/sugar mixture.
Bake at 350º for 30 minutes or until the bars are golden.
Store cooled bars in the refrigerator.
Makes 10-12 servings.
Happy Cooking!
Cinnamon Roll Casserole
I forgot to mention in my last post that the picture of my daughter was taken by my friend, Ann, who I think missed her calling as a photographer. She took some great pictures!
I also wanted to mention that my picture of Zippy seen here can also be seen on Touch of Home Petsitting Blog! That picture always makes me laugh.
I found the recipe for this breakfast casserole on Pinterest and it’s from The Dishy Decorator and we loved it. It’s really more like a cinnamon roll French toast. It’ perfect by itself but adding bacon or sausage and fruit would round it out. It also couldn’t be easier to make.
Cinnamon Roll Casserole
1 tbsps melted butter
2 cans Pillsbury refrigerated cinnamon rolls with icing (8 in a can)
4 eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tsps cinnamon
2 tsps vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup real maple syrup
Heat oven to 375º and pour melted butter into a 13×9 glass baking dish.
Separate rolls from the cans and cut each roll into 8 pieces and place in dish over melted butter.
In a small bowl, mix eggs, heavy cream, cinnamon, and vanilla until well blended and pour over the top of the rolls in the dish. Sprinkle with pecan pieces and drizzle with the 1/4 cup syrup. I did not use the pecans and I just eyeballed the syrup and it worked out fine.
Bake 20 to 28 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, remove metal tops from the icing and heat in the microwave for 10 to 15 seconds at 50% power or until the icing is pourable.
Drizzle over the top of the cooled rolls.
Happy Cooking!
Ham and Cheese Pastries
What a whirlwind couple of weeks! Two showers for my daughter ~ one of which was at my house ~ so I have been busy, busy, busy. I did all the cooking for the shower at my house ~ breakfast in the dining room and lunch in the kitchen ~ and I did not take pictures of all the food. Oh well, I’ll have to remake them! Yesterday, we went to the venue and got the menu for the reception all planned. The wedding is coming up fast!
In between all that, I bought a new cookbook ~ The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook ~ the recipes are just wonderful and easy to do. If you get a chance, check it out. I highly recommend it if you like to bake.
This recipe came from that cookbook. Every Saturday Mr. Meat Eater and I go to a local bakery for breakfast. I am addicted to their ham and cheese croissants so I am always looking for a similar recipe and this one is as close as I have gotten.
It’s easy to make and we had them for dinner. I made half with the seasoning and half without since I wasn’t sure if I would like it or not. I did.
Ham and Cheese Pastries
adapted from The Bake in the Day Bakery Cookbook
Seasoning Mix
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp thyme
2 tsps pepper
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Fine sea salt to taste
Pastries
1 (17.3 oz pkg) frozen puff pastry, defrosted in fridge for 20-30 minutes
1/2 lb thinly sliced ham
1/2 lb thinly sliced sharp white cheddar
1 egg, beaten with 1 tbsp water to use for egg wash
1 tsp fine sea salt
Preheat your oven to 400º and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Make the seasoning mix by mixing all spices in a small bowl and set aside. You’ll have extra to store for the next time you use this recipe!
On a floured surface, unfold the pastry and cut into 4 (5 inch) squares.
Arrange the ham and cheese in the middle of each square and sprinkling some of the seasoning mix over the top.
Fold two opposite corners over the top and press to seal. Transfer to baking sheet. Repeat with second pastry sheet.
Brush egg wash over the pastries and sprinkle with salt if desired.
Bake until pastries are golden brown ~ about 12-14 minutes. Remove from sheet and let cool on a wire rack.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Makes 8 pastries.
Happy Cooking!
Fried Cabbage and an Original Recipe Contest Sponsored by Del Monte
Before I get to my recipe, some contest information for those of you who enjoy coming up with original recipes. This week I was contacted by Del Monte and asked to let my readers know about a Facebook contest they are having for an ORIGINAL recipe using their products. Here’s how to enter the Del Monte Crown the Cook Facebook Contest:
Like Del Monte on Facebook HERE
Click on the Like Button and access the Crown the Cook application
Click “Submit Recipe”
Complete the registration form
Upload your recipe photo and enter your recipe
Click “Submit”
Your recipe must use a Del Monte product ~ the list of all products you can use can be found HERE
If your recipe is selected as one of the top three finalists, not only will you win a year’s supply of Del Monte® products*, but Del Monte will send you and a guest on a four day trip to San Francisco to compete in a cook-off against two other fans!
The grand prize winner will take home the title of Del Monte Cook-Off Champion, as well as thousands of dollars worth of professional cookware.
Official rules for the contest can be found HERE
If any of my readers are serious about entering, please let me know ~ it sounds like a great opportunity ~ a_recipe_a_day at yahoo dot com.
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On to my recipe ~ Fried Cabbage for St. Patrick’s Day. Probably not something too many people like but I love it. In fact, Mr. Meat Eater and the kids wouldn’t touch it with a ten-foot pole. When I was growing up I loved creamed cabbage that my Mom used to make but I can’t make it as good as she did so I stick to the fried version. Actually, it’s really sauteed. I use butter but you can use bacon grease if you have some. This isn’t really a recipe per se but just how I make it!
My Fried Cabbage
1 cabbage, cut in half
3 tbsps butter
salt and pepper to taste
Slice the cabbage into thin slices and pull the slices apart.
Melt butter in large skillet. When melted, add the cabbage. Sprinkle with salt. Saute the cabbage until it cooks down and becomes lightly brown.
Place on a plate or in a bowl and season with pepper.
I only use a third of the cabbage at a time if I am making it just for me.
Makes 4-6 servings
Happy Cooking!
Pi Day!
Today is 3.14 which is pi so today is known as pi(e) day in the foodie/blogging world.
Those who follow A Recipe A Day on Facebook know that I have been craving banana cream pie so I thought it would be a perfect post for pi day ~ and it helped that I remembered to buy bananas. A reader suggested a banana pudding pie and it stuck with me.
I was looking through a bunch of old cooking magazines last week and found one called Our Best-Ever Cakes and Pies by Southern Living. While everything in it looks so good, I did find a banana pudding pie that used homemade pudding so I gave it a shot. It wasn’t hard to put together but it did take some time.
As I suspected, one piece satisfied me and now I won’t want banana cream pie for another couple of years since I’m not really a fan of bananas. Mr. Meat Eater, on the other hand, inhaled 2 pieces ~ he loved it!
Regular readers will know that I can’t cut a pie to save my soul so I will only show pictures of the whole pie before I make a mess of it, LOL!
Banana Pudding Pie
1 (11 oz) box Nilla wafers
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 large bananas, sliced ~ I used 3
Vanilla Pudding ~ recipe follows
4 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
Preheat oven to 350º. Put 30 Nillas aside.
In a food processor, process remaining Nilla wafers. Stir crushed wafers and melted butter together and firmly press on the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate.
Bake crust for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to rack and let cool.
Arrange half of the banana slices over the bottom of the crust.
Prepare the vanilla pudding and put 3/4 cup hot pudding over the bananas and top with 20 of the reserved Nillas. Put 3/4 of the leftover pudding over the top of the Nillas and top with remaining banana slices. Put the rest of the pudding (about 1 cup) over the banana slices.
Beat egg whites at high speed with an electric mixer at high speed until foamy. Add sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, beating until stiff peaks form and sugar is dissolved. Spread meringue over hot filling making sure to seal edges.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned.
Remove from oven and let cool on rack for 1 hour. Crush remaining Nillas and sprinkle over top of pie.
Chill for 4 hours before serving.
Makes 8 servings.
Vanilla Pudding
2 cups milk
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
2 large eggs
4 egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla
Whisk together first 5 ingredients in a heavy saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, for 8-10 minutes or until mixture reaches thickness of chilled pudding. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Use in banana pie immediately.
Happy Cooking!
Beef and Guinness Stew
I am 100% Irish and St. Patrick’s Day doesn’t really get me all excited. My biggest pet peeve is that just because someone turns something green with food coloring doesn’t make it Irish and where did mint come from? We never had green food unless it was naturally green like cabbage and mint was not even on the radar. I understand getting into the spirit of the holiday but it just makes me twitch. And no, I don’t like corned beef unless it’s in a reuben with a ton of sauerkraut.
Regardless of that, I DO like cooking with Guinness. This recipe is similar to Irish Beer Stew which I posted in 2010 but this recipe is easier and tastes richer. The beer really gives food a great flavor and goes so well with beef. I added the button mushrooms just because I like them so you can leave them out if you aren’t a fan. I like it with noodles and Mr. Meat Eater likes rice so I make both but serving with potatoes would be more authentic. I’ve never been a big fan of stew but this is good and flavorful and perfect for your St. Patrick’s Day dinner or any time of year. Serving it with Irish Soda Bread would be the icing on the cake.
Beef and Guinness
2 lbs lean beef stew meat
2 tbsps vegetable oil
2 tbps flour
1 pinch salt
black pepper to taste
1 pinch cayenne pepper
2 large onions, chopped
8 oz button mushrooms, cleaned, optional
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbps tomato paste
1 1/2 cups Guinness beer
2 cups chopped carrots
1 sprig fresh thyme
chopped fresh parsley for garnish, if desired
Mix together the flour, salt, pepper, and cayenne together. Dredge beef in flour mixture.
Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
Add beef and brown on all sides. Add the onions, mushrooms, and garlic.
Stir tomato paste in a small bit of water and stir to combine. Pour into the pan and stir to blend. Reduce heat to medium, cover, cook for 5 minutes.
Pour in half the beer and as it begins to boil, scrape up the bits off the bottom of the pan. Pour in the rest of the beer and add the carrots and thyme.
Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 2 to 3 hours, stirring every now and then.
Taste and adjust seasoning before serving. Garnish with parsley if desired.
Makes 6 servings
Happy Cooking!
Adirondack Salt Potatoes
I have spent lots of time in the Adirondacks and have collected a bunch of cookbooks from the region. I pulled them all out and one thing they all have in common is salt potatoes. Just the name is enough to send my blood pressure even higher and my arteries harden but they are so delicious they are worth having once a year.
Mr. Meat Eater was smoking a slab of meat so I decided this was the perfect time for salt potatoes. Up in the Adirondacks, I can buy the potatoes and salt all in one bag but down here I have to buy small potatoes (I used small yellow potatoes) and just throw in the salt. They are served slathered in at least one stick of melted butter and any herbs you might want to throw in. The insides of the potatoes become very creamy and delicious.
Any leftovers I cut up and make fried potatoes the next day but then I throw away any leftovers of those because they are so salty tasting by that time, they are almost inedible. They are good to make for a barbecue and that is when we used to have them back in the day.
Mr. Meat Eater’s brisket rub remains a mystery. He has a little book that he keeps all his concoctions in and I’ll be darned if I can find it. I think he hides it. This particular rub is a bit spicy for me but he loves it. We serve it sliced up the first night and then make sandwiches with it the next day. The rest goes in the freezer for another day.
Adirondack Salt Potatoes
8 cups water
1 1/2 cups Kosher salt
3 lbs small red or white potatoes, leave skins on
1 stick butter
Fresh herbs, optional
Pepper
Bring salt and water to a boil in a large pot. When boiling, add potatoes.
Cook potatoes until tender ~ about 25 minutes or so but test with a fork or knife at 20 minutes.
Drain potatoes. Put the pot back on the stove over medium heat and add the butter. When the butter has melted, turn off the heat, add the potatoes, herbs and pepper. Toss the potatoes and serve immediately.
Makes 6-8 servings
Happy Cooking!
Chili That Even This Chili Hater Loves!!
It’s true ~ I hate chili. Mr. Meat Eater, on the other hand, would eat it 5 times a week if I would make it. It has taken me 32 years of wedded bliss to find a recipe that even I would eat and like and plan to make again!
The recipe calls for beer and I had some Guinness in the fridge so that’s what I used and it really gave the chili great flavor. I only used one teaspoon of cayenne so that I could actually eat it and Mr. Meat Eater added more Tabasco because we all know that if food doesn’t make you sweat, it’s not nearly hot enough.
You will have to plan ahead a bit since this cooks for about 3 hours but it’s well worth it.
I found the recipe in the Southern Living 2011 Annual and I have never been steered wrong by a Southern Living recipe so I should have known it would be good.
Chili That Even a Chili Hater Will Love
2 lbs ground beef ~ I used 85%
1 medium onion, chopped
3 to 4 garlic cloves, minced ~ I used 4 cloves
2 (15-ounce) cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained
3 (8-ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 (12-ounce) bottle dark beer ~ I used Guinness
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can beef broth
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles
2 tbsps chili powder
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsps ground cumin
1 to 2 tsps ground red pepper (Cayenne) ~ I used 1 tsp
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp hot sauce
Sour cream, cheddar cheese for toppings if desired
Cook beef, onion, and garlic in a Dutch oven over medium heat, stirring until meat is no longer pink. Drain well.
Combine meat mixture, beans, and next 11 ingredients in Dutch oven and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer 3 hours or until thickened.
Garnish with sour cream and cheese if desired.
Happy Cooking!
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